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In my post earlier today on the nightmare scenario for drones, I described various technological improvements that are likely to happen, which could enable pervasive drone surveillance. One key avenue of technology progress I didn鈥檛 mention is the development of quieter drones.

The amount of noise that drones make will actually be a key issue in how they integrate into American life, and one that drone-watchers should pay close attention to. Police personnel have already cited their loudness in dismissing notions that they could operate as some kind of silent surveillance device. An official with the Miami-Dade Police Department, for example, told the , 鈥淥ur drone looks like a flying garbage can, and it sounds like a weed whacker. This thing is very, very noisy. It wouldn鈥檛 allow you to sneak up on anybody.鈥�

That is probably right. If drones sound like weed whackers, then that will have a limiting effect on their impact. Ryan Calo has that because of their dramatic presence, drones may actually be the spark that lights a fire under Americans to begin fighting the erosion of their privacy. Survivors of the London Blitz describe the distinctive鈥攁nd terrifying鈥攑sychological impact of the noise made by Hitler鈥檚 V-1 rockets (or 鈥淏uzz Bombs鈥�) as these 鈥減ilotless bombers鈥� flew into southern England. As long as drones make enough noise to remind people they are there, they won鈥檛 be able fade into the background so easily so that people will forget they are there, which is probably a key prerequisite for imposing surveillance. There鈥檚 a reason surveillance cameras are encased in domes that are made of smoked glass so that we don鈥檛 see the actual cameras swiveling around pointing at us.

Think of drone buzz as a kind of 鈥渘otice鈥濃�攐ne of the key principles of privacy.

If the drones get quiet, on the other hand鈥攁nd all of the above will provide a strong incentive for developers to get them quiet鈥攖hen it becomes much easier for them to be deployed routinely, to stay aloft 24/7, and to become instruments in the construction of a new surveillance system that most people won鈥檛 even think about. At least in the beginning.